Tag Archives: homemade

The best homemade mushroom soup

Posted on December 15, 2015 | 2 comments

I heart soups, especially the homemade ones, where you can indulge in a flavorful one without feeling any guilt. This soup is so rich in flavors and low in calories. It is super easy to make plus it takes less than 30 minutes to be ready.

500g mushroom sliced
1 medium onion finely diced
50g butter
2 tbsp flour
4 1/2 cup vegetable broth (less fat, less salt)
salt and pepper to taste

Melt the butter in a casserole and cook the onions until fragrant and tender, about 2-3 minutes. Add the mushroom and cook about 5 minutes. Sprinkle the flour over while still cooking for another 2 minutes. Pour the broth and mix. When u see the first bubble forming, reduce the heat to low and simmer for 20 minutes.

Puree in a blender and serve. You can keep aside some mushroom slices if you like chunks in your soup.

If you wish to have a creamier version of this soup, you can add one cup of heavy cream 2 minutes before turning off the heat. You can still enjoy a low calorie soup if you choose low fat cream. Personally i prefer it without cream, i like to enjoy the exclusive taste of mushroom.

If you like this post give it some likes and shares to spread the joy. Don’t forget to like marmite et ponpon facebook page and follow on twitter. More interesting posts are yet to come.

2 Comments

Posted in appetizers & salads

Tagged food, food blogger, homemade, jaymmy, lebanon, low calorie, low fat, marmite et ponpon, mushroom soup, qatar, recipe, soup

Make your own all natural energy drink

Posted on October 28, 2015 | 3 comments

These days i feel like a train hit me! I am physically worn out. I am sure lots of moms (or even dads) have been there and felt exactly the same after those long sleepless nights and busy days without a help. To cut it short, i am dog-tired!

Luckily and finally mom is coming next week. Yeyyyy! can’t wait. But till then all i can do is drinking from this energy drink to survive. A homemade, all natural drink to boost your performance.

1cup orange juice (2-3 oranges)
1/2 cup mandarin juice (2 mandarins)
3 tbsp lemon juice (1 lemon)
dash of salt
1 tbsp honey

You can add 1/2 cup of water to these ingredients if you don’t want a really tangy taste. This super easy energy drink is the best when you need a quick jolt of balanced revitalization, and being full of vitamin C, it works as a prevention from cold and flu as well.

Citrus fruits, especially oranges, are a good source of electrolytes. For the people who doesn’t know what are the electrolytes, they regulate our nerves and muscles function, our hydration, the pH of our blood, rebuilding damaged tissue, and determining blood pressure. They are basically calcium, sodium, potassium, magnesium chloride, hydrogen phosphate (a mineral) and hydrogen carbonate (a salt). So having this tangy drink is a smart option to replenish depleted electrolytes.

Honey, as they call it liquid gold, is a natural sweetener that directly enters the bloodstream and deliver a quick boost of energy and memory.

Salt (sodium chloride) is needed to maintain the proper stomach pH. It’s also known that salt lowers adrenaline spikes to improve the sleep quality.

This fire booster drink is a healthier substitute to coffee, if you wish to lower your daily caffeine intake.

Citrus fruits are in season now, don’t hesitate to try this homemade all natural energy drink and keep up your verve all day long.

Offer this drink to your kids after school (not later than 4 o’clock, they will be full of energy and find difficulty to sleep and you will hate me), it will recharge their energy and protect them from catching cold. Skip the dash of salt, kids might not appreciate the taste, and don’t worry, the lemon will do the job, it is a super alkaline which helps your body maintain a healthy pH level.

Now catch me if you can 🙂

If you like this post give it some likes and shares to spread the joy. Don’t forget to like marmite et ponpon facebook page and follow on twitter. More interesting posts are yet to come.

3 Comments

Posted in dessert, special occasions

Tagged all natural, citrus fuits, electrolytes, energy drink, food blogger, homemade, honey, jaymmy, lebanon, marmite et ponpon, qatar, recipe, salt

From a toilet paper roll to a beautiful christmas gift box

Posted on December 10, 2014 | 3 comments

Exchanging presents at Christmas is one of the most exciting rituals. Sometimes you find yourself wondering how to wrap small items, money or gift vouchers in other than a simple envelope that might be lost between the huge colorful gifts! These handmade gift boxes are the perfect solution.

Turn a toilet paper roll to a beautiful christmas gift box in just 10 minutes. Yes it’s a toilet paper roll!

Flatten it with your hand and fold half moon on both ends front and back. The box will come together even without glue.

Now unleash your creativity in decorating the box. You can use anything that comes to your mind.

Start timing ; Cover it with a red paper, wrap around a golden thread, attach 2 small bells to both ends and stick a small ornament. I used a star made with salt dough (already showed how to do in a previous post). Stooooop! I bet it took less than 10 minutes.

Here are four other ways to decorate your gift box

1. beige paper, green striped washi paper, red ribbon and green button
2. doily lace paper, red polka dot paper. red ribbon, 2 red buttons
3. green polka dot paper, golden paillette thread, 3 salt dough stars, 3 green stars made of sugar
4. red polka dot paper, green ribbon and small santa hat

Let your gifts stand out this Christmas, and make your loved ones excited about the wrap more than the gift itself! I would say give a double present this year!

Always add your personal touch to anything you offer, it makes you presents more precious and full of thoughts and love. Ditch expensive wrappings and go simple and creative with materials you already have at home and impress your family and friends.

You still have time to save the toilet paper rolls, don’t throw them! Make extra gift boxes, fill them with candies and make all the children you know happy! It could be children you don’t know…. This is actually what’s all about in Christmas.

If you like this post give it some likes and shares to spread the joy. Don’t forget to like marmite et ponpon facebook page and follow on twitter. More posts yet to come, stay tuned!

3 Comments

Posted in design, DIY, special occasions

Tagged blog, christmas, christmas gift box, DIY, gift box, gift boxes, homemade, how to do, jaymmy, marmite et ponpon, step by step, toilet paper, toilet paper roll, wrapping

What about homemade gifts for Christmas?!

Posted on December 8, 2014 | 4 comments

It’s the most wonderful time of the year, the time when you most receive and offer gifts. Personally, i love homemade gifts, adding your personal touch and thoughts, turns any simple gesture to a gift of love. At the end this is what Christmas is all about, no?!

Let your presents this year be expressive, offer JOY, PEACE, LOVE, HOPE… homemade shortbread cookies to your loved ones. Remember my motto?! (Mother teresa quote) we don’t do big things, we do small things with big love!

Very simple and creative! Bake letter cookies and create the word you would love to wish for the one you are offering to. Place it in a box, bag or any package of your choice and spread the joy!

Doesn’t make you smile to receive one of these cute packages? or see your name made with cookies on your plate at the Christmas eve?

I am sure your colleagues at work, neighbors or friends will be happy to know you were thinking of them and that you made specially for them this little unique gift full of love.

This year I am offering joy to my loved ones. Wishing you all the happiness in the world, and may the birth of Jesus flourishes joy in your hearts!

If you like this post give it some likes and shares to spread the joy. Don’t forget to like marmite et ponpon facebook page and follow on twitter. More posts yet to come, stay tuned!

4 Comments

Posted in dessert, DIY, special occasions

Tagged blog, christmas, christmas cookies gift, christmas gifts, cookies, homemade, homemade cookies gift, homemade gift, homemade gifts, jaymmy, joy, love, marmite et ponpon, packaging, recipe, shortbread cookies

Pretty and practical homemade food ideas for picnic

Posted on November 5, 2014 | 7 comments

It’s now the perfect time for outdoor activities in Doha. Everyone wants to spend as much time as possible and take advantage of the weather especially it won’t be for so long.

I heart picnics! what’s better than throwing a fun picnic with the family and friends, enjoying good homemade food while surrounded by nature. The best thing, we didn’t have to go far to enjoy our picnic, 10 minutes drive and here we are in the beautiful museum park. It was full of people picnicking, but the space was so big that everyone got his private green spot.

I know lot of you find it hard to prepare food for picnic and prefer to buy them ready packed to save the hassle. I will give you great food ideas, so easy and pretty that will make you think twice before having take away.

The aim of this post is not giving detailed recipes but ideas of practical food for picnic and how a small detail makes it look fancy and creative. Yes why not, you can have a casual picnic with beautifully presented food that looks fancy.

1- Grilled Chicken and avocado sandwiches. Very easy to prepare. You can use any type of bread, personally i like beignet bread for its soft texture. Stuff it with the grilled chicken, avocado slices, iceberg lettuce and mayonnaise. You can use any stuffing you like, wrap the sandwich with craft paper and tie it with a twine.

Eh voila the pretty and creative sandwiches yet practical. Now it’s easy to put them in a container or even a zip lock bag.

2- Spinach and Emmental quiche. Any type of flat food prepared in a baking dish and cut in geometric shapes is very easy to be stored, if you don’t like quiche you can have pizza, kibbeh bil sanyeh, tarte….

The best part of lunch is when everyone shares his food. If you are a group of people, no one has too much to prepare, distribute the tasks! This quiche was prepared by my friend Hajar. It was delicious!

3- Pasta, crab and orange salad. Salads are always a hit in picnics. Great as a side or main dish if it has substantial ingredients. Easy to pack in a container and stays fresh up to 4 hours without a fridge.

Salads are colorful and cheerful. Long tubular pasta (casarecce), matching the shape of the crab sticks, orange wedges and corn. Yellow, orange and red go really well with the green backdrop. Serve it with lemon mayo dressing to go with the tangy flavor. There are open ended choices of salads. I am sure everyone has his favorite.

4- Hotdog puff pastry and cheese straws. Very easy and quick especially the puff pastry is ready made. It only takes the time of baking (15 mns almost). You can replace the hotdog with cheese or spinach.

Cutting boards are very practical and beautiful to serve the food. Jamie oliver was a big inspiration in this matter. In previous posts i showed you how to decorate your cutting boards for such presentations.

5- Marbled cake. There should always be at least one dessert to please your sweet tooth especially if you have kids with you. A basic but delicious cake is one option.

It’s so clever to bake them in individual molds for picnic. No need for plates and forks, each can have his part with no mess! One day I will share the detailed recipe (it is Cyril Lignac’s recipe) for this cake because it’s so yummy. Again thank you Hajar for introducing this cake to us.

6- Custard and jello in a jar. This was a fab idea for this type of dessert. You can use any mason jar you have at home, close the lid and here is the most practical dessert ever. It can be any pudding you like.

It was a fun day, we really enjoyed the weather and the green space. It was a great opportunity to play with the kids and unwind after a long busy week.